Camp Meeting May 20th at Old Courthouse

This month we join with the members of the Lexington History Museum for their lecture series, which just happens to be our own Sam Flora speaking on Lexington during the War. This will be a chance for us to mingle with some other historically-minded folks, let them see what the SCV is all about, maybe even do a little recruiting. Please note that this is the 3rd Thursday of the month, not our usual 2nd Thursday.  The 7:30 p.m. start time still allows those who wish to get dinner at Columbia’s—just around the corner from the old courthouse where the LHM meets - to do so. While we won’t have a room reserved, I’m sure Columbia’s wouldn't mind some familiar faces dropping by before heading over to the LHM lecture. The LHM meets on the third floor, in the courtroom, of the old Fayette County courthouse. If you want to communicate with others in the camp about meeting to eat at Columbia’s beforehand, you can always use the camp list-server (email address: john-c-breckinridge-scv-100@googlegroups.com). An email sent to that address goes to everyone on the list (which is most of the camp). If you haven’t joined the camp list yet,  you can go to the website (http://groups.google.com/group/john-c-breckinridge-scv-100 ) and submit a request, or just email Don Shelton at sheltonreb@qx.net.

  

Division Reunion June 26-28 Bardstown

The Kentucky Division 2009 reunion will be held in Bardstown, 26-28 June, 2009. The John Hunt Morgan Camp will host. The hotel is the Parkview--right across the street from My Old Kentucky Home. We'll be meeting and eating in Kurz restaurant, adjacent to the hotel.

There'll be time on the schedule to visit the excellent Bardstown Civil War museum and to visit the Confederate section of the city cemetery (where the SCV was instrumental in the repairs of storm damage a few years ago). They also have a fine women's museum, so be sure to bring the ladies!

Camp Calendar Online

The JCB Camp 100 Calendar is available online; by subscribing to the calendar you can not only see upcoming events, but get reminders. The calendar is posted at the top of our camp blog at www.camp100.blogspot.com and can be accessed directly at http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=rg2q7jh05517b40o1mjbptol4c%40group.calendar.google.com&ctz=America/New_York

The JCB Camp Discussion Group Is in the Works

Using Google Groups software, our camp will be working on creating an online discussion group over the next couple of months. If you have already given the adjutant your email address, in the next several weeks you will receive an invitation to join the group. If not, please provide your email to Bazz. The purpose of the group will be to get out announcements on camp meetings and activities, and to encourage discussion of camp projects. This will be a very limited focus, with a small flow of emails (honest). The group will have a private website where files and discussions are posted, but will also function as a traditional listserv where posts are put in your email inbox, so visiting the group website isn't necessary.

Slight Change in Meeting Format

Circumstances have caused a change in the way we handle meetings, which is that we are starting the speaker while we wait for the food. We had tried dividing the meeting into two equal parts, with business meeting and dinner in the first hour and speaker in the second, but sometimes the length of time getting the the food back out from the kitchen was sometimes getting us off-schedule. So, we'll try using that waiting time instead as the time for the speaker. So, our meetings now will still start at 6, but the speaker will be at approximately 6:15. This should insure that we are done on time.

Wills Wows

Brian Wills kept a nearly full house (33 in attendance) enthralled with all kinds of stories about that devil Forrest, a man surrounded by myths (many, it turns out, arising from his own ability to turn a good story), yet whom the truths are still amazing and inspirational. Wills did an excellent job of cutting through the myths to the fascinating realities, strengths and weaknesses of Forrest. Wills also hit the controversial head-on. The KKK? "Forrest didn't found the KKK, it found him". Ft. Pillow: "what happened wasn't mercy, but it wasn't a massacre".

We also were graced with the unveiling of an original piece of fabric art by JoAnna Grimes, wife of camp 100 member Mike Grimes. It was a very impressive piece that a picture doesn't truly capture. She make custom fabric pieces if you're interested. In all, a great meeting with good information and fellowship.

Meeting Thursday the 9th: Forrest!

Anybody like Nathan Bedford Forrest? We thought so. Well you get your chance to hear from the man who wrote what James I. (Bud) Robertson called "the best thing ever written on Forrest"! Brian Steel Wills will be our speaker this coming Thursday, April 9th at Columbia's Steak House on N. Limestone in Lexington. Meeting is at 6 and speaker at 7 (approximately). Wills is a professor of history at Virginia's College as Wise, and a former professor of history at Georgia Southern University. He has had articles published in Georgia Historical Quarterly, Journal of Military History and Parameters. In addition to "The Confederacy's Greatest Cavalryman: Nathan Bedford Forrest", he is also author of "The War Hits Home: The Civil War in Southeastern Virginia". and most recently "Gone with the Glory: The Civil War in Cinema." He spent several Summers as a teenager doing Confederate living history, serving on the light artillery crew at Petersburg National Battlefied.

Another must-hear speaker brought to you by the John C. Breckinridge Camp #100. See you Thursday!

What's Been Going on Lately

If you’ve missed any meetings lately, you’ve definitely missed out on something good, from the two-part series on Morgan’s Christmas Raid (with a few thousand Rebel Yells thrown in), to birthday cake in honor of Lee, Breckinridge and Jackson to hearing about the Battle of Richmond from one of the best experts around. Our camp consistently gets you the best speakers! Here are a few pictures:

Top left: Happy Birthday Generals! Top Right: details on the Battle of Richmond that only Bob Moody could provide. Above: Gary Matthews’ two-part Christmas Raid series gave expert in-depth coverage.

Bazz's North Carolina Adventure

Most of us by now have heard about how our own camp adjutant, Bazz Childress, was arrested at the national SCV convention this past July for the heinous crime of displaying a Battle Flag in his motel window just prior to the scheduled Kentucky Soiree’. The motel owner was quite insistent that—despite anything addressing such in the contract - he could dictate such terms as flag removal and insist upon arrest for criminal trespass if his edicts were not obeyed. Bazz, having quite a bit of familiarity with contract law and the legal system in his job as bank asset manager, played along perfectly. He politely (and with the support of dozens of SCV members who gathered quickly on the scene) and repeatedly refused to furl the colors, forcing the issue. He was eventually, politely and briefly arrested by Concord, North Carolina’s finest and a court date set. At that first court date the owner of the motel failed to show, forcing the prosecutor to ask for another date which was set for Tuesday of last week. At that hearing the owner of the motel again failed to appear, forcing the prosecutor to move for dismissal. Southerners have grown used to this type of false intimidation by bullies with little nerve to back up their actions. Their bigoted behavior won’t stop, though, until they are forced to pay a high enough price. One aspect of the law is that if one wants to seek a civil remedy to a situation, any criminal matters arising from it must be decided in one’s favor. A dismissal is certainly getting a decision in one’s favor. The leadership and legal minds of the SCV are looking hard at this case as to what the best options are. The Kentucky division certainly has a history of making legal history in preserving the rights of Southerners. First Castorina, then Duty, maybe soon to add Childress? If that is going to happen, it will take finances (as it did in Castorina and Duty). If you would like to help make it happen, send your financial support to Kentucky Division Adjutant Dr. William Wells, 1443 SR 1124, Mayfield, KY 42066.